1. Diversity of feather mites (Acari: Astigmata) on Darwin's finches.
- Author
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Villa SM, Le Bohec C, Koop JA, Proctor HC, and Clayton DH
- Subjects
- Altitude, Animals, Bird Diseases epidemiology, Ecuador epidemiology, Humidity, Islands epidemiology, Mite Infestations epidemiology, Mite Infestations parasitology, Prevalence, Temperature, Biodiversity, Bird Diseases parasitology, Feathers parasitology, Finches parasitology, Mite Infestations veterinary, Mites classification
- Abstract
Feather mites are a diverse group of ectosymbionts that occur on most species of birds. Although Darwin's finches are a well-studied group of birds, relatively little is known about their feather mites. Nearly 200 birds across 9 finch species, and from 2 locations on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, were dust-ruffled during the 2009 breeding season. We found 8 genera of feather mites; the most prevalent genus was Mesalgoides (53-55%), followed by Trouessartia (40-45%), Amerodectes and Proctophyllodes (26-33%), Xolalgoides (21-27%), Analges and Strelkoviacarus (0-6%), and Dermoglyphus (2-4%). There was no evidence for microclimatic effects (ambient temperature and relative humidity) on mite diversity. Host body mass was significantly correlated with mean feather mite abundance across 7 of 8 well-sampled species of finches. Certhidea olivacea, the smallest species, did not fit this pattern and had a disproportionately high number of mites for its body mass.
- Published
- 2013
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